Defect-assisted synthesis of magneto-plasmonic silver-spinel ferrite heterostructures in a flower-like architecture

Artificial nano-heterostructures (NHs) with controlled morphology, obtained by combining two or more components in several possible architectures, make them suitable for a wide range of applications. Here, we propose an oleate-based solvothermal approach to design silver-spinel ferrite flower-like NHs. Small oleate-coated silver nanoparticles were used as seeds for the growth of magnetic spinel ferrite (cobalt ferrite and spinel iron oxide) nanodomains on their surface. With the aim of producing homogeneous flower-like heterostructures, a careful study of the effect of the concentration of precursors, the reaction temperature, the presence of water, and the chemical nature of the spinel ferrite was carried out. The magnetic and optical properties of the NHs were also investigated. A heterogeneous growth of the spinel ferrite phase on the silver nanoparticles, through a possible defect-assisted mechanism, was suggested in the light of the high concentration of stacking faults (intrinsic and twins) in the silver seeds, revealed by Rietveld refinement of powder X-ray diffraction patterns and High-Resolution electron microscopy.